Most conventional motor vehicles, such as the modern-day automobile, are originally equipped with a dedicated storage area next to the passenger compartment for stowing personal effects and belongings. A traditional trunk compartment, for example, is a large storage bin located at the rear of the vehicle and covered by a trunk lid that is hinged underneath the passenger compartment's rear deck. By comparison, the dedicated storage area of a pickup truck and other cargo transport vehicles (e.g., sport utility vehicles (SUV), cargo vans, box trucks, etc.) is typified by a rear cargo compartment that is closed off at the tail end by a hinged liftgate, tailgate or door assembly. Truck cargo compartments normally offer more storage volume than their conventional trunk counterparts by providing increased floor space with an elevated cargo ceiling (vans, SUVs, box trucks, etc.) or an open cargo area without a ceiling (pickups, flatbeds, etc.).
Pickup trucks and other cargo transport vehicles are frequently used as commercial work vehicles because the increased storage volume of the rear cargo compartment provides extra space for hauling oversize equipment, tools and trade supplies. The rear cargo compartment may also be customized with storage boxes, shelving, or racks to accommodate more specific storage and hauling needs. For vehicles with an open cargo area, it has become common practice to employ a cargo bed cover (also known as a “tonneau cover”) to protect stowed equipment, tools, and materials from theft and damage, and to prevent these objects from becoming inadvertently dislodged from the cargo bed during transport. Typically, these covers are either soft-top designs, which can be removed or folded, or hard-top designs, which are either planar, unitary constructions or are segmented to be juxtaposed in bi-fold or tri-fold type configurations.